Conventional home wireless networks typically include multiple communication resources (such as one or more WiFi™ base stations) facilitating wireless communications with one or more mobile communication devices. For example, a conventional wireless network may include: a first base station providing wireless coverage to a first region in a home environment; a second base station providing wireless coverage to a second region in the home environment; etc.
Each of the wireless base stations may be part of the same wireless network providing access to a corresponding remote network such as the Internet. Via communications through a selected one of the multiple base stations, a respective user of the mobile communication device in the home environment is able to wirelessly communicate over the Internet. In certain instances, the wireless base stations may support handoffs from one base station to another. This typically requires settings of the wireless base stations to be synchronized to some extent.
Each of the multiple wireless base stations disposed in a respective network can be configured in a similar manner with the same or complementary configuration settings such that a user in the home environment is able to connect to any of the multiple wireless base stations to access the Internet using a corresponding mobile device. Operating a wireless network using appropriate synchronized configuration settings amongst the base station enables the respective user to more easily use any of the base stations in the wireless network. As mentioned, synchronization of settings is typically required to support handoffs.
For any number of reasons, a head of household user may modify configuration settings (such as an SSID, password, security mode, channel settings, radio settings, network address information, etc.) associated with the wireless network and corresponding base stations.
As a specific example, assume that a respective user would like to make a change to a configuration setting such as the name assigned to the wireless network and corresponding wireless base stations. Initially, assume that both the first base station and a second base station in the wireless network are assigned the same SSID (Service Set IDdentifier) value and reside within the same wireless network. In general, an SSID value is a multi-bit character string indicating a name assigned to a respective base station in the wireless network.
To learn of the name assigned to the wireless network, the user of a respective mobile device may initiate transmission of a discovery request to any of one or more base stations within wireless range. In response to receiving the discovery request, each of one or more base stations that receives the discovery request responds (such as via broadcast) with a respective SSID value indicating the name assigned to the base station in the wireless network.
According to conventional techniques, the name of the wireless network can be changed. In order to modify the name assigned to the wireless network and each of the base stations according to conventional techniques, the respective subscriber in the subscriber domain must manually modify the respective name assigned to each of the base stations. For example, the user must first manually initiate changing the SSID value associated with the first base station to a selected new name. Thereafter, in order to ensure synchronization of wireless network settings, the user must manually change the SSID value associated with the second base station to the selected new name as well.
In accordance with certain other conventional systems, wireless access points in a respective wireless network communicate with each other to update configuration settings. However, this technique is not secure and prone to attacks by hackers.
Regardless of how the name of wireless network is changed, after effectuating the change of both base station SSID values to the common selected new name, the user is able to connect to any of the base stations using a common setting. For example, the user can program a respective mobile communication device to connect with any wireless base station assigned the new name. In such an instance, when a user requests to establish a wireless connection with the wireless network, the mobile communication device automatically establishes the wireless connection with the network using a suitable one of multiple base stations assigned the new name.